# What should be avoided when smoking pipe



## pipe30 (Dec 5, 2012)

Again, I'm new and have never asked this question to anyone and would like to hear from some experienced pipe smokers about this. What are some things that should be avoided when smoking a pipe? I want to take care of the pipes I have and do things right. I've heard of people's pipes cracking because they didn't take care of it and would like to know why that is and learn about other things that should be avoided while smoking. 

Thanks!


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

I avoid my wife when smoking my pipe


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## Blue_2 (Jan 25, 2011)

Too much cake build up and dropping them is bad.

Sneezing or coughing into a pipe is also bad. :lol:


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## steinr1 (Oct 22, 2010)

Many say Ennerdale Flake, but they are wrong.


The main advice I would give is (and always will be): Don't sweat it. Pipes are pretty robust and short of setting them on fire you will probably do little damage. Ask for all the advice you need - the members are very helpful. I'm sure you've seen advice on how to pack a pipe, smoking slowly to ensure (at least attempt) that you keep the smoke relatively cool and enjoyable, smoking every last shed of tobacco in a load, building up a "cake" inside the bowl, etc. etc.

The basics are pretty simple. Stuff tobacco in pipe, light and draw into your mouth. You must use matches. Or a lighter. Or both. Pipe care is even simpler. Clean it when it is dirty (or not, I rarely do). Use pipe cleaners. Try not to drop it on anything hard. And you must never chew the mouthpiece. Unless you like doing that. That's about it. Anything else can come later and you will have developed your own "right" way (if it works for you - it is right) by then.

Briar pipes can crack but that is relatively rare. So can cob pipes, but who cares? Just buy a new one. Meerschaum? I'm told they can crack in use but I've never seen it. But don't drop them - they WILL break if you are unlucky. Briars can burn through. If they do they were probably duff in the first place. Cobs - again, who cares? Meerschaum? I doubt it - they're make of rock.

There are polishes for pipes (I believe - don't hold with it). But if you don't, heaven forfend, use one, the pipe will not be damaged in any way and you can polish it when you can be bother to do so. Or not.

Don't let any of this become a chore. It should be enjoyable and not a worry.

ENJOY!


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## Fuzzy (Jun 19, 2011)

I avoid people with bad attitudes and rain storms when smoking my pipe.


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## Dr. Plume (Sep 24, 2012)

Avoid gas leaks.


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## Shemp75 (May 26, 2012)

Do not mistakenly inhale instead of exhale when blowing ash after a smoke.

NOT GOOD!


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## pipe30 (Dec 5, 2012)

haha... I hear ya. Thanks Robert for the good info.

Maybe I'm wrong about this but I feel like in the time I've been smoking my pipe i'm enjoying it which is good. I've been reading posts about people saying smoking it too hot and was wondering if that was because of preference or it would damage the pipe. Or, maybe I would hear of something else that I may be doing without knowing it that could be bad. Ultimately, I enjoy it and I think right or wrong it's a learning process and I will figure it out over time. So, if it aint broke, don't fix it I guess.


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## mturnmm (May 18, 2011)

My fiancee and me have been discussing things to avoid most of the time.... That would be.... Teenagers..... They suck! They will kill a good buzz...ruin a perfectly good day. I can only imagine if you are around one or Mike while trying to enjoy the art of smoking a pipe.... So just avoid them!


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## steinr1 (Oct 22, 2010)

mturnmm said:


> My fiancee and me have been discussing things to avoid most of the time.... That would be.... Teenagers..... They suck! They will kill a good buzz...ruin a perfectly good day. I can only imagine if you are around one or Mike while trying to enjoy the art of smoking a pipe.... So just avoid them!


Teenagers are mainly annoying because they are between 13 and 19 years old. And I am no longer in that bracket.


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## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

I would caution you to avoid running or sneezing while clenching.


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## indigosmoke (Sep 1, 2009)

Hi Brian,

Welcome to the pipe! As I'm sure you can tell from the good natured teasing, there is not much to worry about. One thing I would advise is to not remove the stem while smoking and while the pipe is warm (unless it is a military mount, designed for such). You probably won't have a problem, but it could damage the pipe if you do so. Also, never force a stem when you are removing it from a pipe. This seems to me to be one of the main causes of damage I've seen people encounter. If you come across a stem that is difficult to remove, just pop the pipe in the freezer for a few moments and it will loosen up nicely to be removed. Aside from that, just smoke and enjoy. Briar was selected over the years for its good qualities with regards to heat, etc, so to smoke a pipe to the point where it was so hot that the pipe suffered damaged would be one very unpleasant smoike, I would imagine. When people mention smoking "hot", they usually fear for the quality of the smoking experience, not the pipe itself. Just use a pipe cleaner or two after after each smoke, don't use a torch lighter and destroy the rim, and occasionally give the rim a wipe down with a cloth and some spit and you should be doing fine for some time to come. Depending on how much you smoke, you may need to give your pipes a good cleaning with grain alcohol on occassion, but you'll know it when it is time. The pipe will start to taste a bit off, etc. There are plenty of threads on doing so here, when you are ready. Enjoy!


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## MarkC (Jul 4, 2009)

Mixture 79.


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## madbricky (Mar 29, 2013)

Smoking outside in the wind! In the car with wind. Nothing like a hot ember or sparks blowing back on you. This is why owning a deep bowl like a general cob is handy.


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

What Indigo'ke said about removing warm stems plus some more:

It is way easy to snap off a tenon inside a mortise or, even more horrible, to snap off a shank entirely. Some stems are threaded and screw out anticlockwise, therefore, time honored advice saying "always" remove and replace a stem by twisting clockwise doesn't necessarily apply. You need to know what the deal is BEFORE you go to twisting stuff with more than light pressure. Further to removing stems, grasp stem and shank firmly and, in general, twist gently clockwise to remove; in so doing, keep the tenon in good line with the mortise. Avoid sideforces which can, and do, crack pipe shanks* (and break tenons).

Also, avoid saying anything when a newguy gets five basket pipes that smoke and taste awful (after a dozen guys suggested he start with a large Missouri Meerschaum cob**), have burned rims, loose stems and wet heels. You can't reason with those people.

*









**


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## Phred (Feb 13, 2013)

> I've been reading posts about people saying smoking it too hot and was wondering if that was because of preference or it would damage the pipe.


While it's possible to damage a pipe by smoking too hot (briar is wood, after all - and corncobs are, well, corncobs...), the more likely problems with smoking too hot involve scorching one's tongue (the most prevalent form of tongue bite) or altering the flavor of the tobacco. I'm still enough of a noob that I have no idea whether I'm altering the flavor adversely when I puff too much, but I have noticed that as I slow down, my tongue doesn't need quite so much Biotene as it used to...


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

Phred said:


> ...it's possible to damage a pipe by smoking too hot...


This is true. For some it is even habitual.


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## Tobias Lutz (Feb 18, 2013)

Avoid catching your hair on fire.


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## Squints (Apr 29, 2013)

I know you need to rest the pipe between smokes to let it cool. Also can anyone tell me the time frame between puffs (similar to a cigar and the saying of a puff every minute or so). I don't want to cause damage because I am smoking too fast.


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## Tobias Lutz (Feb 18, 2013)

Squints said:


> I know you need to rest the pipe between smokes to let it cool. Also can anyone tell me the time frame between puffs (similar to a cigar and the saying of a puff every minute or so). I don't want to cause damage because I am smoking too fast.


It really depends on the pipe, the type of tobacco, and your puffing style. Cheaper briar pipes tend to overheat quicker, whereas I have never been able to get a meerschaum pipe really hot. In my experience the tobacco is the biggest variable- particularly how wet or dry it is when you smoke it. A rule of thumb that was told to me is if the bowl becomes uncomfortable to touch against your cheek then it is time to let it rest for a little bit.


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## Squints (Apr 29, 2013)

Tobias Lutz said:


> It really depends on the pipe, the type of tobacco, and your puffing style. Cheaper briar pipes tend to overheat quicker, whereas I have never been able to get a meerschaum pipe really hot. In my experience the tobacco is the biggest variable- particularly how wet or dry it is when you smoke it. A rule of thumb that was told to me is if the bowl becomes uncomfortable to touch against your cheek then it is time to let it rest for a little bit.


Ok Thank You


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## Tulpa (Jan 18, 2013)

steinr1 said:


> Teenagers are mainly annoying because they are between 13 and 19 years old. And I am no longer in that bracket.


Hey! I'm still in that bracket for another year and some odd months. :fencing:


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## steinr1 (Oct 22, 2010)

Tulpa said:


> Hey! I'm still in that bracket for another year and some odd months. :fencing:


How annoying! I now have to tick the highest bracket in those type of questionnaires.

Over 50? YES - What's it to you?


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## Gigmaster (Jan 12, 2009)

Be careful when smoking your pipe in the shower (you don't want to know how I know this....).


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## jmac1981 (Jul 9, 2013)

Everclear and/or moonshine.........


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## Gigmaster (Jan 12, 2009)

Rabid anti-smoking NAZIs


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## NeverBend (Aug 29, 2009)

Gigmaster said:


> Rabid anti-smoking NAZIs


In 1990, I was walking in NYC on 6th Ave and 53rd, smoking a special pipe when a woman approached me, making guttural sounds, her eyes wide and crazed and her hand extended like a suffering mother reaching for the child she never expected to see again.

My immediate reaction was empathy until her hand wrapped around the bowl of my pipe and she yanked to free it from my mouth! She led me like an obstinate oxen, my head swivelling back and forth, my eyes searching for a soft place to put down the fragile packages that occupied both of my hands. Her hand dipped low and as my head and body followed, I gently laid the package I held in my left hand on the ground and snatched her by the wrist behind where her hand still enveloped my wooden friend.

She began grunting and twisting herself sideways to free her wrist from my grasp while never relenting hers. As we dipped to the right I laid my other package on the ground and seized her hand holding my pipe. I increased the pressure on her wrist endeavoring to relent her grasp.

"He's hurting her!"
"That man attacked that woman!"
"Help that woman, help her!"

I had only been aware of a street vendor with his yellow and green umbrella shielding his offerings but now six people stood at arms distance in a semi-circle like spectators at a bare knuckle brawl. I felt her hand release the pipe and I backed away from her. She scurried behind the fortification of her new found friends.

I was fortunate that the vendor knew my attacker and had seen her attack. Six well meaning people had seen only a moment of the action and decided that the woman was being wronged and they remained skeptical despite the vendors rising to my defense. Their manner suggested a lingering belief that we, the vendor and I, were in cahoots.

It helped the vendors business as everyone bought something from him and as he was occupied for a few minutes, I gathered my packages. My attacker had disappeared as I replaced the pipe in my mouth and discovered that it was sore along with my teeth and jaw.

"Thank you", I said to the vendor.
"She's crazy - hates smokers. You were smoking, right?"
"Actually, no. It wasn't lit.", I pointed to the empty tobacco chamber.
"Doesn't matter to her, she'll think that she smelled it."

I thanked the vendor and extended my hand with a $10 bill for coffee and a muffin not intending to accept the change.

"No charge", the vendor's hand waving me off.
"Nobody should get treated the way you just did. Bad start to the morning, so my treat."
"Yes, but if you hadn't been here and spoken up, I might have been in some really hot water."

He held up his hand again and I realized that refusing my benefactor's hospitality and graciousness would insult the man I wanted to thank.

That's why I like street vendors!


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## Fuzzy (Jun 19, 2011)

Commander Quan said:


> I would caution you to avoid running or sneezing while clenching.


Sage advice even though I would be hard pressed to remember the last time I ran.


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## bigLuke5595 (May 22, 2014)

I am personally not a believer in spending hundreds of bucks on hundreds of pipes, put you should at least have one pipe for each different TYPE of tobacco you smoke (if you smoke english, aromatic, and virginia's in the same pipe, eventually they will all taste the same)


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## McFortner (May 13, 2007)

Never, never, never clean or disassemble your meerschaum pipe until it has cooled down 110% because meerschaum is very soft and fragile while hot and moist. I once tried removing the stem while smoking one of mine and needless to say I pulled the shank right off the bowl! :sad:


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## NeverBend (Aug 29, 2009)

Sit-ups. :burp:


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